Poisoned Gauntlets
by WatWriting
Summary: Cloud already hated Hojo, after all the man was the reason Sephiroth went insane, but as he had no choice but to ask him for help when Vincent gets severely sick he learns how much he completely loathes the man as well. Name changed from "Between Motion Sickness and Poisons". Warning: Mediocre in quality and also descriptions of rotting limbs, kind of. Ending Edited. Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Two men stood by a table whose papers and books were thrown and pushed off, their place taken by another young-looking yet scarred man.

The older looking of the three goes by the name of Professor Hojo, and he was the lean hunching man in the labcoat standing over the feverish and most probably hallucinating red-eyed man (if you could call him a man), while the blond one, Cloud stood close enough to stop Hojo if he did anything that he did not agree with.

Cloud stared at the scene happening before him, was he really letting it happen?

Right now all he could hear was ragged, pained breathing coming from Vincent and a bit too amused random low murmurs coming from Hojo, which were usually followed by Vincent's breathing becoming erratic or stopping for a moment.

Cloud allowed himself a moment to think about what lead to the scene before him, as Hojo hasn't tried anything out of their "agreement" in the past ten minutes...yet.

Did they really hunt a weakened Vincent down when he refused to relive his nightmares at the hands of Hojo, when Cloud himself knew what the man was capable of? Yes they did.

Of course, not that he could compare his own experience to Vincent's, which was basically repeating itself right in front of him, and this time he could stop it, anyone could. And Vincent knew it too. He heard their long explanation as to why they were doing it, or at least he hopes he was conscious enough to. They were all desperate enough to try to believe that Hojo wouldn't just torture him.

Wondering why would they even considering his so-called help? As mentioned before, they were all scared and desperate enough to "trust" Hojo's offering of help because no matter how much they looked for and through his writings about Vincent in the laboratory/library, they couldn't find anything that any of them had any qualification to do or even attempt to. And materia did little help.

And how did Hojo found out about their need for help? It was a coincidence, as while they were down there, a random woman from the Turks came to retrieve some papers for him. They assume that she told him.

Cloud quickly found himself out of his thoughts with a harsh grip on Hojo's left hand that had just harshly slapped the surprisingly silent gunman.

"Oh, so you were paying attention? Hard to tell with your kind, it's just the same lost glossy look in your eyes that never changes, quite boring to be honest, as you barely let them glow. Now, would you be so kind as to release my hand?" Hojo's annoyed expression as he pulls his hand free only spiked his own annoyance and just plain hate for the man.

"Why did you slap him?" Cloud's voice was as stern but calm as he could manage, taking a step back from the man, as if disgusted by him.

Hojo glanced back at the suddenly unconscious Vincent and frowned. "There's your answer. I was trying to keep him awake, as his wounds heal much, _much _slower when he's awake. I can't work on him when he's unconscious, as while I do so enjoy seeing his face contort in pain, it would be nothing but a waste of time for me."

As he ended this small rant of his, the corners of his lips twitched up as if threatening to grin at the blond. "You don't know anything about him do you? He doesn't trust any of you does he now? And I wonder what he will think when he, ahem, gets "better". I heard it wasn't easy getting him here in his delirious state _was it?_" Hojo moved away from the table with the subject on it to a free nearby desk, picking up a random notebook and pen from the nearby bookshelf as he continued talking." Hmm... Perhaps the way he acted could... help me help _him_." Hojo rolled his own eyes at the phrase, oh how cliche it was.

Hojo walked back to his "patient", oh how it brought back memories, he thought as a small almost unnoticeable grin appeared on his face, making the blonde glare at him. But, as quickly as it came, the grin faded into a focused, somewhat blank expression as the scientist wrote things down on the black notebook while ignoring the continuous glare the younger man was giving him.

Suddenly Cloud found himself rubbing a spot in his arm that a quite sharp pencil was pushed into, Hojo was _really _pushing it (the agreement that is).

"I am waiting for you to talk if you haven't noticed. When did it start and with which symptoms, as it is hard to find anything in particular cutting him open over and over for two hours, but I can continue if you want, as none of you seem to mind. If you do not know how it started, you may go and call someone else to be here."

"Quit your remarks Hojo, they're all false. You're pushing close to the limits of the agreement." Cloud said, but only earned a scoff and a sneer from Hojo for not calling him by what he considers to be his full name, Professor Hojo.

Cloud cleared his throat, suddenly finding it itching and not wanting to talk about the subject with the man. It almost felt like he was betraying the red eyed gunman (_okay_, he admits, _it's somewhat too late to be feeling guilty_) by telling the scientist how weakened and dangerous he was becoming. Taking a deep breath Cloud prepared himself to report the most important and only the things Professor Hojo needed to know.

Somehow, all of this feels familiar, reminding him of his position as a lowly Shinra infantryman...wait _what_? He shook his head it, probably just reminded him of the position itself, as he doesn't remember ever being one... But then _how _did he get into SOLDIER_..?_

"It isn't clear when it actually started, but we are assuming that it started somewhere between Yuffie, the ninja girl, catching a bad case of a flu which joined with her motion sickness made her throw up on him and when he was in a group with me and Barret doing monster hunts for Gil in which we all were badly poisoned and only had two antidotes on them, all while we were going back to the town to get more. This time, he threw up and passed out and only woke up fives hours later, but the poison had already been filtered out by then. Although we did take the precaution of still giving him an antidote."

_Well_, Cloud thought, _that's about it_. He stood there in silence wondering if he should continue and how, while Professor Hojo seemed to be taking in the information and writing something down, before giving Vincent a glance with raised eyebrows and turning to look back at Cloud.

"I hope you do realize I will need to talk to her, as it seems that she was the cause for the first incident, and most probably in the middle as well, I presume. And no, you will not do until we get to the later parts, because I don't know if you know, humans hide things and lie. I will need to talk to her myself." Hojo said while he turned his back on Cloud, looking through cabinets and drawers as well as between books. Suddenly he pulled out a book, or should he say box disguised as one, and took out a vial of clear liquid with a slight yellow tone to it, raising it to the light, and Cloud is pretty sure he heard him mutter "... it should be relatively safe to use..." and "... only 31 years..." so he really does need to ask what that is.

"Yes, I think we can arrange you talking to her." Cloud did not miss his raised eyebrow when he said think, this man is really stabbing his patience. Ignoring his want to just at least behead the man, Cloud quickly stood between him and the table as he decided to not let him pass until he knew what was in the vial. As the man picked up a syringe that he was pretty sure he just found laying around, Cloud cleared his throat rather loudly and got his attention. "What is in that vial?"

"Nothing that interesting, simply something to be sure that he wakes up. I will warn you, he really gets loud and I am guessing with the _slightest _acidification the liquid might have suffered, it will be more painful, in turn, having him scream more. If you happen to be uncomfortable by this, this will be a good opportunity to explain to the nosy short female at the door what I want her to talk about."

Cloud slowly took a step back and glanced at the door that suddenly shut closed behind them. "Is there another..." way is what he wanted to ask, but he was quickly interrupted by the scientist.

"Yes there are, but most involve stabbing him, electrocuting him, waiting it out as he gets worse or half drowning him. Would you prefer any of these, or a simply temporary burning sensation?"

It would be hard to miss the slight winces that appeared on Cloud's face as he tried to weight down the options before him, but he was quickly distracted by the door behind him opening and a Yuffie and if he saw right a Cid as well peaking in with worried expressions. Cloud breathed deeply as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, he is the leader, he must make decisions. But sometimes they can be so _hard_.

Hojo didn't really seem to care for his opinion, as he simply knew that the other would allow him to continue, it really was pathetic this display here. He pushed the syringe inside the small vial retrieving its content and smiled to himself, but his face quickly turned into one of pleased surprise when he heard the words leave the blonde's mouth.

"Just... try to silence him." _Oh that's cold_, a voice inside his head said to him, and as he approached the door and glanced back, he agreed. As he started to close the door behind him, a pained muffled moan quickly turned to desperate barely muffled screaming. He swore he could hear the screaming man trashing on the table, as the other three in the corridor glared at him. Oh for his mastered Bahamut materia, he wished this would be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuffie prides herself in being an amazingly awesome fighter, a master thief as well as a mastermind in sneaky plans. But, no matter that she grew up watching her land become a tourist trap and heard many people scream angrily at one another over the years, unshakeable isn't one of her qualities. So when Cloud closed the door and she heard bloody murder coming from behind him, she couldn't help but glare daggers at the blonde. Was he really leaving Vincent in there alone?

But after the screaming had subsided (after three minutes, not that she counted or anything), Cloud gave them all an apologetic look. Quickly, he glanced at the door before focusing his glowing eyes on Yuffie, and she couldn't stop herself from gulping. (Oh damn it, what did she do _now_?)

"Listen Yuffie, Hojo says that he needs to speak with you, as you were with Vincent when he began getting... sick, as well as that you kinda threw up on him. But..." He turned to face the other two next to her, Cid and Tifa. "I don't know if he might want to talk to you too later or even with the others. So just, yeah..." Cloud said as he rubbed the back of his neck, he really didn't know where he was going with this, but he was quickly shown the path by Cid's beautiful words.

"Whatever, if he wants ta talk to us so be it, but you better get your goddamn asses moving back inside 'cause it's too fuckin' quiet in there if you haven't noticed." He huffed as smoke came out his mouth, his nervousness raising his need for the smoke and nicotine.

Yuffie bit her lip as Tifa placed a supporting hand on her shoulder (everyone knew she _really _didn't like the serious kind of stuff and Hojo was _way up_ the serious scale), and when she turned to look back at Cloud, she found him walking to the door. Quickly she ran past him and placed a hand on the dark wood of the door. As she opened it and peeked in, she was greeted by a weak growl and a yell from Hojo, oh crap were her thoughts exactly.

"Would you hurry and hold IT STILL?" Hojo himself was trying to inject something else into Vincent, or technically Galian Beast while also trying to get his feet back on the ground, being lifted by the beasts arm.

While it took Cloud's wrist being caught by the thankfully weakened beast's free clawed hand and Yuffie jumping on top of the arm of which Professor Hojo was dangling on until she heard a distinct popping sound and the arm dropping (for which she quickly apologized by carefully petting the head of the beast, she would like to keep her throwing hand) Hojo was back on the ground.

Galian Beast was awake, yet not moving. The two of them guessed it was because of whatever Hojo had injected, to their dismay, in a quite large quantity.

Hojo quickly dusted himself and groaned, walking back to where he dropped his notebook and scratched something over and rewrote whatever it was.

"What is your relationship?"

Yuffie almost jumped at the question, _what the hell_, she thought to herself. "Uhh.. like what?" She swears she actually heard the man roll his eyes.

"Is it friendship, partnership, a romantic relationship or purely sexual?" _Ugh_, Hojo groaned to himself, _its like talking to a child, is there anyone with some intelligence in their group?_

When he saw her face redden with a confused look on her eyes he guessed that it probably wasn't the last option. He almost laughed, as if Vincent would start an actual romantic relationship of any kind anytime soon.

"What?! I'm sixteen and he's like... whatever age he is by now! We're friends, and that only. Weeell I think he thinks of me as a friend too, you can't really tell with Vinnie, he just has about three expressions, so yah." Yuffie quickly looked down at her feet and fumbled with her fingers, oh sweet life stream did she really ramble that out to him? And she was pretty sure she could feel the second hand embarrassment coming from Cloud, only helping to fuel her own. She couldn't tell if she was thankful or not by the lack of change in expression in the scientists face, as he wrote things down.

"Hmm, yes whatever. Now the subject that actually matters, I need you to tell me everything that you know happened to them the day you got sick and threw up on them because of your motion sickness." Hojo motioned at the purple beast barely breathing behind him.

Yuffie couldn't help but grow uneasy when he mentioned that she was sick and that she has motion sickness, she knew that Cloud told him, but she still felt unnerved to say the least.

Still, Yuffie looked at the hunched man before looking away, scratching her head, trying to remember how everything happened.

Right, first step, remembering _when _it happened. Was it three weeks ago or two? Two and a half, yeah she remembers having the flu for a full week until about the beginning of last week, and yeah she remembers throwing up on Vincent, oh the look on his face was just so lost. He knows how to deal with sick people and all, its just that it hasn't happened that he had to take care of anyone in so long, he sat there for a second trying to remember just about everything he was supposed to do before continuing as if she hadn't thrown up on him. But still, for half a second he sat there, covered in her projectile lunch bathed in acid with absolutely no idea what to do, so it was partially worth the glares she received from time to time after that. Wait, is this what she was supposed to talk about? Pretty sure that no, she wasn't. Right, everything about Vincent, not her.

"Alright, so about like two and a half weeks ago we, that is me, Vincent and Tifa, were looking for an abandonned cave that I was sure I saw somewhere aroud Cosmo Canyon, which we did find but it wasn't really abandoned... anyway it was getting late and all that so since I had a Chocobo lure materia Vincent said it would be best if we found some Chocobos to head back because it would take too long to go on foot and Tifa was getting low on magic power to heal both of us and couldn't keep up for much longer because someone with the hairdo of a Chochobo's butt always takes all the potions." Yuffie gave Cloud a short glare before breathing in.

"So since my feet kinda hurt a lot from going up and down the Canyon multiple times and I really didn't feel like going all the way up again I agreed to the idea and then I threw up on Vincent and his wonderful cape when I got off our Chocobo at the entrance. I swear it stayed there to mock me for a second..." Yuffie paused for breath and Hojo thanked any gods that there may be.

Galian Beast apparently choked on his own drool and Hojo groaned, right, _that _was still there. He walked to it and slowly turned it's head to the side, and then watched its eyes darting across the room and not focusing on anything. "...Interesting." He breathed out unknowingly, and Yuffie apparently got that the man wasn't going to listen to anything she said at the moment. Was Cloud even still here? She glanced at the door, he was talking with Tifa and Cid. Oh what a leader, leaving her alone with the mad scientist, she thought as she crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

Hojo meanwhile was occupied with trying to find the thing's pulse, and when he found it he was pleasantly surprised, not that that's good for Vincent. From what he remembered, while its heartbeat was fast, it wasn't this fast at any time he had recorded it. As well, he was certain he could feel heat radiating from the manned beast. Interesting indeed.

Quickly picking up the regularly discarded notebook and pencil, he wrote things down again.

_It seems that whatever that is affecting Vincent himself, is affecting the demons on the same level, something that hasn't been recorded to this point. What a window of opportunity..._

Hojo cleared his throat rather loudly, getting Yuffie's sad eyes from the sick beast. He really didn't get it, it could kill her in one swipe, even if they would call it an accident. He smirked, wondering what Vincent's reaction would be if said simply terrible accident happened but he quickly cleared his head.

"Now continue, was he behaving any differently after you threw up on him?"

"Was he? Come on Yuffie, give the mad scientist the needed information about your friend." She mumbled to herself, leaning to the side, only to yelp and lean away from the table with the drooling and growling purple puppy, as she likes to call it, not that the name "Galian Beast" scares her (of _coooourse _not).

"I don't really think so, all he did was call Boobs to take care of me and take a shower. Unless you consider him wearing something besides leather him behaving weirdly."

And yet again Hojo was scribbling things down, and Yuffie sighed to herself, at least she doesn't ramble on like him, she barely understood what he said with him jumping from subject to subject.

Suddenly, a red mist moved from behind them and onto Vincent, covering him entirely and Cloud couldn't stop himself from pulling Yuffie a few steps back from the table (_better safe than sorry, after all_).

Yet Hojo just stood there and face palmed, great, he just lost an opportunity to "check up" on Galian Beast.

Soon before them Vincent Valentine laid on the table once more, fully clothed, wrapped almost protectively in his cape. Thankfully still awake, as noted by Hojo.

Should he tell them? Heheh, he didn't see why he should. They should be able to tell if they were his friends...


	3. Chapter 3

Hojo turned back to Yuffie, whatever traces of the grin he had mostly gone.

"Care to tell me what happened afterwards?" Perhaps he could leave sooner than anticipated if he found the reason of the gunman's sickness to be her fever, not that he couldn't just walk out, because the moment they refused to let him leave this would turn into a kidnapping, and surely they wouldn't want to give Shinra yet another reason to hunt them down.

"Well the thing is, no I can't. Really all I know is what I just told you. After the out-of-body-lunch-experience-possibly-induced-by-a-fever-experience, all I know is that Vincent threw me onto my bed at the inn and called Teef to take care of me." Yuffie's hands were shoved as deeply as they went into her short's pockets (which manage to stay on even without a belt or being actually zipped to Tifa's annoyance) with her thumbs out, looking anywhere but Hojo and Vincent.

Liestening to her, Hojo was looking for something yet again, picking up a metal stand (which Cloud realized was an IV Stand) and setting it next to Vincent, returning to his search of whatever it was he wanted to find.

"So you just wasted my time instead of telling me that you didn't know?" Hojo said a bit harsly at her, making her dig her shoes into the hard floor.

"Anyone present know what happened after that?" His voice joined the noises of things falling down, disturbing the silence.

But as he stood, hunching forward even more because of the weight of the box he was holding, the two in the room shook their heads.

"I wan't there, and Tifa was with Yuffie." Cloud explained, and just as he was about to open his mouth again, a gruff voice spoke up from behind them and the room was filled with the scent of cheap cigarettes.

"I do, but keep in mind nothin' much happened for the day. He did take a shower an' shit, hell he even asked me for a spare shirt because apparently the fucker doesn't have anything besides that." Cid motioned at Vincent, or more correctly, at what he was wearing. While meanwhile Hojo apparently found what he wanted in the box he had placed next to Vincent's head, actually on top of the other's hair. It seemed to cause him discomfort but he didn't really care.

"Then after that he just walked around the town like he usually does for a while before retreating into the inn and stayin' in there until the next day. He didn't look sick ta me. Well he didn't until about couple days later when Chocobo Brain, Red an' Vince were electrocuted with one of Cloud's stolen mastered materia by a "smarter than usual thief", as said by Cloud." Cid would grin at the other blond's glare, if he could. It just didn't feel right to do it here.

Cloud himself walked closer to the table giving Vincent a compassionate glace on the way, while Yuffie went back to Tifa, its not like she could say anything important anyway.

"You do know that I'm not letting you inject anything without knowing what it is." Cloud stared at Hojo with his arms crossed, while the other seemingly ignored him, hanging the bag on the IV Stand and checking if the needle was good.

"Hojo." Cloud repeated loudly, patience is a virtue that he was close to losing with the man. Thankfully the other did hear him this time.

"Yes yes, I heard you. It's nothing, simply to help his blood clear faster. Or do you really want him to remain paralyzed for hours? If so, you have severe trust issues." Hojo stared at the blond, his expression empty, yet his mind barely stopping him from remarking that the other had no problem letting him inject Vincent's wake up call. On that thought, "And no, this won't hurt him." he added, even although that he didn't need to, after all the other didn't ask.

Hearing Cloud sigh was what he counted as a 'please help yourself' and before the other had any say in it, Vincent expressed a wince and his gauntlet twitched and the needle was in. Wait, twitch? Interesting, he did expect a wince or even a grunt, but not a twitch of the golden gauntlet. Perhaps a side effect of the shock?

"Well then, anyone mind starting to talk about the after effects of the shock? Which for your information, wasn't an actual electrocution, but simply a shock. Electrocution is only to be used when the subject dies." Hojo explained but his words went unheard. "So you are sure that he was shocked before the poisoning?" He asked, receiving a nod from the once again glaring Cloud, maybe he needs glasses? The other smoking blond was looking back, waving at the two women at the door that were apparently leaving. Hojo rolled his eyes; women, so squeamish.

"I think he mentioned that his gauntlet felt stiff, but I didn't notice anything in battle. He did accidentally shock Cid when he took a look at it." Cloud explained, a hand in the air vaguely waved as he talked.

Cid turned back and almost barely suppressed a (manly) yelp as he found the hunched man staring at him up in his personal space.

"Did he now? So he let you... a simple ship mechanic, look at the advanced prosthetic gauntlet? Quite the dumb thing to do actually. You could have accidentally loosened it, jammed it or even worse, have taken it off. You didn't do it did you? I'm sure he wouldn't have liked that, nor you would." Hojo looked like he really wanted to get the point across by repeatedly poking Cid in the chest surprisingly hard. And it looked like he did as a flash of a horrified expression was quickly engulfed by the man's ears and face becoming a mighty shade of red and that he was roughly pushed back and his lower back hurt from a rough encounter with a table.

"Listen'ere ya fuckin' piece 'a' shit, don't think yer better than me just 'cause you have somekind of a fuckin' head disease that is yet to be discovered that keeps you from havin' anythin' close to humane fuckin' thoughts." Cid huffed, his cigarette tight between his fingers, not too far from Hojo's face, whose nose wrinkled and brows furrowed because of the smoke.

"YES I'm a fuckin' plane pilot, mechanic, engineer, fuckin' call it whatever you fuckin' want but FUCK ME if I don't fuckin' know my way around your people's fuckin' headscratchers. I was a man of science, HELL I still am, but the difference is that I fuckin' believe in sane goddamn science, and not whatever the fuck that you did to him!"

The red faced man breathed heavily as Hojo simply stared at him, a short uncomfortable silence broke through the lab as Cloud wondered if he should get involved, and as the following frase left Hojo's mouth, he didn't need to wonder anymore.

"Is that an invitation?" Was all that Hojo could say before the enraged pilot punched his face and slammed him against a bookshelf, almost pushing it down as well, but before the red faced blond could say anything, he was again quickly interrupted by professor Hojo. "What are you going to do? Hit me? Heh heh... Knock me unconscious? Or even dare as to try to kill me? Heh heh heh..." Hojo grinned at him, his blood from a busted nose slowly leaking down his face, giving the other two men a disgusting feeling in their stomaches, yet Cid only tightened his grip with his shaking hands on the man's lab coat, not picking up on Cloud calling his name. "I really wouldn't advise that, after all, what a chance you would miss to help your friend, because I can assure you that you won't find anything about him in here. Would be a shame for me to die without telling you where would it? Heh, and then, what would be of him now? Without me, who could help him, hmm? Jim, you're really heartless aren't you? I recommend you to think things through before making any rash moves." Hojo almost laughed out, and he would have if "Jim" didn't raise him higher and slammed his head against the bookshelf again.

"My name's fuckin'-" And so he was interrupted again, but this time, by Cloud, whose ignored voice came through with a punch to his arm. (For a guy scrawny looking guy he hits hard.)

"Cid let him down and get out." Cloud said, his voice as stern as he could make it, and his face hard, he needed to get Cid out.

"What the fuck' do you mean by that?" Cid asked surprised, fucking chocobo head thinking he's the leader... oh wait.

Hojo quickly found himself on his feet again, not before having fallen onto his behind of course, and he giggled to himself as he got away from the blond men and went to check up on Vincent. After all, he wasn't the one to start this one-sided fight was he? That simple-minded beef roast just had to defend himself didn't he?

Glassy red eyes stared back at him, though they did not seem very amused. Hmm, if he could already express emotion and move slightly (Hojo was sure he saw Vincent's relaxed hand slowly curl into a fist as the small scene Cid put up happened) in a couple more minutes he could be sitting up and talking, if he could move his jaw that is.

The two men's conversation missed his ears completely, and he only looked up when he head the only doors in the lab were loudly closed by the man who had punched him in the face. Hojo, glancing at his now bloodied hand from trying to see what his nose's condition was, quickly cleaned it on his lab coat as Cloud quickly made his way up to him.

Oh how Hojo adores pissing off men full-of-themselves.

"Don't you even dare to pull one like that again, Hojo." Cloud hissed at him, the hand by his side curling into itself.

"It's Professor Hojo, and I do not know what you're talking about, you clearly saw he started it." Hojo didn't feign innocence, as he was indeed innocent, he thought as he cleaned his glasses on a clean spot of his lab coat. Who knew sand was so hard to shake out?

But just as Cloud decided he deserved to rant as well, a hoarse and barely audible voice butted in, quickly catching the attention of the two others in the room.

"Would you... both shut up?"


	4. Chapter 4

A pair of blue eyes turned to look at the slowly breathing gunman, who was staring at the ceiling with a bored expression wishing it would just cave in on him already. Not being able to move never goes with him.

"Vincent? You awake?" Cloud asked, no matter how redundant he sounded, but he had to ask. He can't even count the times they thought Vincent was awake and actually thinking before he jumped out of windows screaming he won't give them _'the files'_ that easily or just growled at them when they said his name.

It took a while for him to respond and Cloud wondered if he passed out but a barely noticeable nod closer to a twitch along with a mouthing of a yes, Cloud nodded back. Then it hit him, he would most likely need to explain this... _awkward _situation to him once he was able to move.

Meanwhile, Hojo was thinking to himself. Perhaps he would get permission to move the subject onto the actual operating table and not keep him on a desk that only reaches his waistline. Preferably willingly, because the awfully familiar self-claimed blond SOLDIER 1st class didn't trust him. It was simply a table for Shiva's sake.

Said blonde (whose name was Cloud, not that he cared) reminded him of another 1st class SOLDIER, whose hair was as awfully spiky as his and also had the same traits of a cookie-cutter star personality. The arrogance, the annoying "care" for others... just what was his name again?

Hojo's face was suddenly taken over by a large grin. Oh he knows who this Cloud is. Chuckling to himself, Hojo went away from the desk and near the mako pods with the broken glass, somewhat annoyed that Shinra refused his request to replace them but thankful at the same time, after all it would be a shame to lose such a fine reminder of what failed experiments can do... until they meet their controlled end that is.

Cloud glared at the much too gleeful Professor, he never really liked being here and having him here didn't help at all. Moving towards the desk, he stared at Vincent, who after a few seconds, slowly moved his head to stare back at him. This silent treatment from both parts involved was soon ended by Hojo.

"Valentine, status report. Area: body movement." Hojo simply stated, confusing Cloud to no end as he turned to move his (now confused) stare onto the scientist. Seriously, did he just _expect _Vincent to report to him? And in front of him too. But as fates are harsh on Cloud, before he could even mutter a word, he quickly shut his mouth to let the highly concentrated gunman (45% pure marksman) speak.

"Faint movement in my arms and legs. Should be able to move with the grace of a severely intoxicated man in..." Vincent took a deep breath and Cloud was sure he was guessing the time in his head. "six minutes, more or less. For full recovery, 27." It wasn't hard to tell that speaking wasn't exactly easy for him.

Hojo nodded his head and _hm-ed_ a couple of times, walking around the table and eyeing the still twitching gauntlet.

"The moment you find yourself to be able to move, sit up and move onto the examination table, then we can proceed as we should have. This _Infantryman _of yours really want's me to mess up, don't you agree?" Hojo only received a more confused stare (as well as an exasperated "I was in _**SOLDIER**_") and a harsh glare from an odd angle.

"Having me work on you in this poor lighting as well as far from my tools. Heh heh, quite rude of him, don't agree?"

"No." And that was all Hojo got as an answer, leaving him frowning as he started moving everything near the examination table. Everything being the heavy but surprisingly sturdy cardboard box as well as the IV stand (which he purposely dragged away with the needle still in to hear the other black haired male grunt in pain as tissue ripped) and the couple of tools such as the scalpel and the retractor.

But, as Cloud didn't hear Vincent agreeing to move to the table, he moved to stand yet again between the Scientist and his destination.

"I didn't hear him agree to move." Cloud said as he glanced behind Professor Hojo, watching as Vincent tried to sit up a few times, only to look like he was being possessed as he barely raised his upper body only to fall back on the table. And well not that him being possessed was uncommon, but you get the what he meant.

Suddenly Cloud found a heavy weight at his chest and was given no choice but to hold it.

_Just how does Hojo carry this himself? No wonder his back is the way it is..._

"Don't worry, because unlike you, _grunt_-" he stressed the word, as if trying to get a reaction from Cloud, but all he was doing was annoying him. "I have seen him have something akin to common sense in the way the Turk thinks." _As if__ you're on to talk_, Cloud almost rolled his eyes, but then Vincent spoke again.

"Let him move everything to the table Cloud, I doubt it is any safer to let him ... _operate _in poor lighting." The phrase was followed by a pained groan as he pushed himself into a 'sitting' position. While the cuts on the skin healed fast it was hard to say the same about muscles and more importantly organs. Just _what _was Hojo thinking he'd find by cutting him open?

_**Quite the friend, that Cloud of yours**_ - a voice in his head spoke but he quickly shushed it. He couldn't afford to loose control in this situation because of emotions.

Cloud muttered something under his breath but placed the box near the table anyway, and nearly found himself on said operation table, taken back by the pose the other was in. Of course, his surprise was gone quickly, and certainly not noticed (or so he hoped) by the others. He didn't know why but helplessness settled in his stomach when he saw the other 'sit' on the table, breathing slowly as his back was hunched and head hung from his neck staring at the floor (er, table) and his arms dangled from his shoulders.

_Heh, you should never want to see anyone so weak_, the mysterious voice in his head noted with what he could tell was sadness... and maybe even regret? _But don't worry Spiky, he's a hard one, Turks don't go down that easily._

A small frown appeared on his face, he really didn't know where this voice came from but it had no right to give him nicknames.

While Hojo was happy for the moment, organizing various surgical instruments in an unknown order to anyone but him, Cloud moved to help Vincent, who was slowly moving his legs (with his hands, to give you an idea of his progress) off the desk.

"Do you want any help?"

An annoyed version of Vincent's glare was sent his way. "I give you two guesses. The sooner we get this over with, the quicker we can leave this forsaken place." Surprising Cloud as he put the other's arm behind his neck, Vincent let out a low chuckle. "Getting routine shots will be... interesting now..." Okay, either Vincent was going into la-la land again or he was surprisingly... okay with the situation. Cloud couldn't decide which was worse to be honest.

As he slowly dragged the gunman onto the table and seated him there, he found himself the target of a harsh, harsh glare from the red pair of eyes. Oh boy, he thought.

"Don't expect me to just accept this situation as it is, Strife." _Oh Gaia, he's using last names..._ "You will tell me what is the agreement you spoke of, because I do not remember being part of the negotiations. But for now, I want you to go tell Cid that he could have removed the gauntlet and that I would've been fine, I can remove it at will. As well as while his concern was appreciated, I would prefer if he didn't smoke a pack a minute in a closed space. And bring me my weapon as well, if you would." Cloud almost sighed in relief when he changed subject but then he realized that Vincent wanted him to _leave _the room.

"Vincent, I can't just leave you here!" Cloud almost growled out. He didn't know why, but he was getting more uneasy by the second, as if trying to remember something he couldn't.

Vincent, in turn, remained calm. Or well it looked like it, as a short silence was maintained up until he spoke.

"Cloud. Get out." A rebellious glare was what he got in return. _Alright_, he admits, _perhaps that was a bit too blunt._

"What did you just say?" Was the response he got, Cloud really needed to get out now. He was starting to snap like a cranky teenager and that really, really wasn't a good thing nor something he was going to deal with. Cloud looked like he would either collapse on the ground or attack someone.

"Cloud listen to me, and for the love of the Cetra, _stop talking_." Thankfully he did, Vincent noted from the lack a rebellious teenager's response as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His head hurt, having to process _inhuman amounts of drugs_ does that to a person. And his liver was quite numb as well.

"Listen, you are too agitated, I don't know what is going on in your head but you need to sort it out at least for right now. You are too close to doing something you'll mindlessly blame yourself for and spend the rest of your journey apologizing for." Vincent didn't miss the irony of his words as Cloud's face visibly softened, and realization drew itself on his face (how could he have snapped at VINCENT out of everyone), Vincent quickly raised his gauntlet and waved it absently to keep the other quiet. "Just go and do what I asked you to do. I will be fine. I am awake, I am conscious." _**But are you really? **_Vincent scowled, although it wasn't visible to the untrained eye.

Cloud stared at Vincent for a moment, before a short laugh caught his attention. Hojo, having witnessed the whole scene, now understood the situation of the blonde swordsman.

The nameless black-haired 1st SOLDIER had escaped along with this Infantryman after four years of captivity in his lab. The SOLDIER was mostly fine, but the Infantryman had "escaped" with a severe case of Mako Poisoning (or if you want to call it so, Addiction) and was basically dragged along the path.

Now, after the Shinra Grunts too pleased with themselves for taking out a weakened SOLDIER 1st class ignoring all the causalities decided to leave the blond for dead he now stood in front of him believing HE was 1st class. Not too hard to guess what happened when you're Professor Hojo himself. But still, while he was an interesting sight, he was a failed experiment, not that he seemed to remember it.

"What are you laughing at?" Cloud demanded. Alright, he shouldn't have yelled at Vincent, but if Hojo kept up he wasn't going to leave.

"Oh, nothing that matters to you, now leave. After all, I think I might have hurt that pilot's feelings, we don't want him doing anything he might regret, hmm?" Hojo really didn't care, but it seemed that mentioning other people's issues got to the blond's head faster than his own, SOLDIER cut-out alright.

Cloud sighed, it was of no use speaking to Hojo, so why did he even bother? Giving Vincent a last glance, who nodded in return, he headed for the door.

"I'll be back shortly." Cloud Strife, EX-SOLDIER 1st Class said as he left the room and left the Scientist and the Ex-Turk alone.


	5. Chapter 5

"At will, hmm?" Hojo smirked, he never thought the other would lie to his new playmates, but then what to expect of a Turk?

"I simply do not have the needed tools in my possession." Vincent bent and unbent his knees to see if it would help him recover faster, not being able to move properly annoyed him, as mentioned before. His 'goddamn showoff acrobatics' were useless if he couldn't move his legs.

"Yes well, if I remember correctly, there was a reason I have... stored them outside of your reach." Hiding would've been too harsh of a word to use, even if that's what he did.

"Besides making my life even harder and you being a sadistic lunatic?" Vincent glared at his twitching gauntlet, he never noticed this. Well of course, lately he was either unconscious or running around with a fever, but it still displeased him because he didn't know the reason.

"Yes, besides that. You can remove the gauntlet relatively safely, yes. But what about the glove?"

**_Aw look, now he doesn't even bother to answer your remarks, wasn't Sephiroth going to call a meteor or something?_**

Vincent glared even harder as if trying to melt the metal away, he didn't need them commenting on everything either.

The glove? Oh, of course. Vincent raised his gauntlet to eye level, holding it with his other arm as he slowly looked over where flesh met metal. He really was glad he got Cloud to let him move to the this table, as without the bright light above him, he doubted he would have noticed the near unnoticeable cut going under the black glove covering his skin, which looked slightly loose around that area.

Setting his arm on his knee, with his right hand he moved to feel the area around it. It felt tender and stung but became number the closer he moved his fingers to the cut. That really wasn't a good sign.

As Hojo was walking back to the table with a leather case in his hands, Vincent slowly applied more pressure around the cut itself, and he winced when he felt something definitively tearing but still nothing much in the area of pain. Not good indeed, perhaps he somehow managed to ruin his nerves completely.

"Noticed anything interesting?" The sudden use of human language made him turn his head towards the professor, who was carrying a leather case he didn't have before, and completely ignoring the instruments he oh so carefully organized.

"There is a cut on my skin running under the glove, which seems to be slightly loose. The area around the cut feels tender and stings, but the cut itself feels numb."

Now, if you were a simple bystander in Gaia, you would've had thought that Vincent didn't hate the man or want him beheaded and his corpse fried and thrown off Mt. Nibel while using his head as means to practice headshots. You would've had thought very, very wrong.

Hojo hmm-ed as he took hold of the gauntlet by the wrist without much of a warning, trying to mask his amusement when he felt the other slightly tug his arm back. Oh, was he afraid of him? _What a nice thought..._

Focusing on what the (_ex_) Turk told him, he harshly pushed and probed at the skin right where glove and skin meet while taking in the scarce reactions in Vincent's face. After a while Hojo just dropped the fragile limb onto the owner's lap ignoring the thing he locked up 30 years ago trying to glare him to death.

Unnecessarily slowly, he opened the leather case and again, slowly pulled out a simple screw driver. Or so it seemed, as the head of it reminded Vincent more of a key.

There was an uneasy silence going on, and neither of them helped much with their ahem, _gruff_ personalities.

"Gauntlet." Was all that Hojo said, he won't even call it an arm now, as it was only there out of his generosity really. The man in red complied, weary red eyes staring expressionless as Hojo stuck the baby of a screwdriver and a key in between the glove and gauntlet on the underside of his arm, and after a click, Vincent's whole arm jerked and he tightly gripped his elbow with his right arm, trying to keep the pain from spreading. He was protectively hunched over his left rests of an arm, his eyes closed shut and watering and breathing or even staying conscious was hard.

Hojo, meanwhile, stood and watched. What caused this reaction? Contact with oxygen? But then only the glove would be exposed... As he heard footsteps he glanced back with an unfazed expression. Oh good, it was Cloud. He was seemingly shocked at what happened in his absence, but Hojo didn't care. His curiosity, _damn_ it, was growing. And about such an old lab rat as well...

"You. Go over there and hold him still. And don't let go no matter what he says, understood? I need to look at that arm, even if I have to paralyze him or knock him out." _Again_, he added in his mind.

Cloud stood there for a second before bolting to the shaking gunman's side, who was attempting to call out his name, only for his tries to be interrupted by his own irregular breathing.

Great, now he could barely breathe, move _and_ think. If only he stayed in that coffin...

**_Come on, give in to the pain. I'll make it go away. I'll make them go away as well. _**

So tempting... no. "N-no." He would not lose control.

Cloud looked at him confused, but when he caught Valentine's eyes staring at him behind raven bangs he listened closer as the gunman's mouth moved and tried to produce words without screaming out.

"...out. Knock me out." A short pause for breath followed, Hojo was tapping his foot impatiently. He told the blonde to hold him, not to listen to his woes. "Chaos, h-he... knock me out."

Cloud winced but nodded, Chaos had once come out 'to play'. They had to run away from the destruction he caused. Trees were uprooted, innocent animals murdered without a glance as the ground rose and damned all on it. Then there was the whole ordeal with tailing him and almost crying in relief when he turned back just as he was approaching Gongaga. Cloud shuddered, but he wouldn't let those... _small things_ affect his trust in the gunman. He had more than once proven that he was loyal and did indeed care about them. (Yes, _even_ Yuffie.)

Sighing, Cloud didn't give Vincent much of a warning as his palm hit the man's forehead and pushed his head back forcefully onto the examination table. He was out cold, thankfully. Even if there was a small dent in the metal table now.

Hojo rolled his eyes for what seemed to be the x time that day.


	6. Chapter 6

Tired of waiting for the failed clone to say something, Hojo moved towards the now supposedly loose gauntlet and picked it up. He quickly found himself frowning as he tugged on the gold colored metal. It wasn't coming off.

Cloud in the meanwhile, stood and watched with what one might call morbid curiosity as the man tugged on the metal gauntlet.

"Do you... need help?" Cloud instantly regretted asking, as he was met with the most exasperated expression he had ever seen on the scientist.

"You want me to let you, a SOLDIER reject, try to remove the gauntlet?" Hojo threw his arms up, purposely dropping the arm onto the hard metal table. He didn't miss the hitch in Valentine's breathing, but he kept on. "If you think that you can do it yourself, do it. Although even if I did indeed have the rest of my life to explain everything wrong with that, I wouldn't have enough time." A small satisfied smirk appeared on his face at the wide eyed and completely confused look on Strife's face. What could he say now...His smirk turned into a grin as he thought of something.

"You know, I think I've told you before. SOLDIERs aren't made to think, they're made to protect people who think. Like me." Hojo's sounded completely calm, and if he could even produce such a tone, somewhat 'sweet'. Sweet as in mocking that is.

Wordlessly, Hojo picked up the gauntlet again and tried to pry it off more carefully while keeping one eye on Cloud. It would be stupid of him to just rip it off the gauntlet and damage the limb underneath even further... unintentionally.

Cloud stared at the man before him, trying to remember what Hojo was talking about.

Did Hojo tell that to him? He doesn't remember it. But maybe, just maybe, he told it to- suddenly, his whole body shook and his knees gave out and whatever he was trying to say came out as a groan. He gripped at his hair, his head felt like it would implode on itself. The voice came back to him, and this time he couldn't really ignore him... it.

_Hey hey hey, its okay. You do remember him telling you that. He mentioned Hollander as well didn't he? You... were there. Just come on, get up. Vincent over there needs ya Spike, no mental breakdowns while your friend's are sick alright? _

Slowly, Cloud nodded. Yes... Hojo did tell him that. Cloud didn't actually know who Hollander was but he didn't question it, the voice was right. He didn't have time for mental breakdowns.

Much to his displeasure, Cloud picked himself off the floor just in time to smell and see one of the most disgusting things he ever had. It really wasn't helping him with standing.

Hojo had finally managed to take the gauntlet off, it seemed as the glove had actually melted into the rests of the lower arm, and let it come in contact with the interiors of the gauntlet. By the sights of the flesh showing, this limb was poisoned yet continuously healing itself.

"Interesting..." Hojo yet again breathed out unknowingly.

The lower arm was unnaturally thin, more closer to a starved man's limb. The black glove than once protected it melted into skin and flesh, leaving enough openings for blood and pus to leak out now that the gauntlet was removed. Cloud was thankful that he didn't have enough time to eat these past two days, as he doubted he would've had kept anything in at that sight.

But, yet again, Hojo was unfazed... actually, it seemed like he was grinning at the sight of it.

"I'll amputate it."

Cloud blinked slowly and looked up, straight into the scientist's eyes. "You can't be serious." His voice was controlled, his face not saying anything. "Are you saying there is nothing else you can do?" He was this close, this close to beheading the man right there. The only reason the scientist still had his head was because he caught sight of the... limb, if you could still call it that.

"Now now, I didn't say it was the ONLY way. It's simply the easiest and quickest way to end this. This lower arm is continually rotting and healing itself while poisoning his blood."

Hojo sighed, placing the arm back on the metal table, still not gentle about it. (Was that a whimper?)

_Oh well._ "But if you want him to go through even more pain, I can do that."

Cloud groaned, again with the decisions. Still, at least he knew what to say to this one.

"He's keeping the arm. Do what you have to start healing it and then we'll take it from there." His voice left no space for arguments, or so he thought. Really now, Professor Hojo was asking to be beheaded.

"Oh, so to you I'm a nurse now? No wonder you never made it into SOLDIER, I mean I was honestly surprised you weren't sent back to... Where are you from again?" Cloud didn't say a thing, and only listened crossing his arms, honestly amused at the man trying to trick him into believing something that was a complete lie. "Oh yes, Nibelheim. You really have problems with authority, you know? Ah, and to think you were once just like the rest of the young cadets, dumb and worshiping of Sephiroth." Okay, Cloud admits, he growled at that comment and did indeed take a step forward. (If only not for Vincent and the table he was on...)

Hojo grabbed a scalpel and slowly tried to separate the glove from the once skin (or muscle, depending were you were looking), yet his voice continued kicking at his already 'jumpy' (as said by Tifa) mentality.

"I could render this arm useless, and you wouldn't know until he woke up. You really had better ways to do it, you know? I'm talking about you, heh, knocking him out. You're lucky I made him so strong, or you would have killed him. Although I don't think that would have been so bad, after all, have you looked at him? He clearly wants to be dead."

Cloud decided that talking to the man was definitively a waste of oxygen, so he settled for a glare. Seemingly the man forgot he was the reason why Vincent was actually there. That, and why Sephiroth was apparently alive and kicking. (Well, murdering.)

Hojo chuckled to himself again as he slowly peeled the remnants of the once glove from Vincent's fleshy arm. "So, how hard was it to contain our friend here, hmm? And on that note, how hard was it to bring him here?"

"Why do you want to know?" _That's it Cloud, keep it together. And preferably inside your stomach as well. _Cloud thought to himself.

"While I am certain that I know what's going wrong here." He motioned to the arm. "I would like to know the circumstances of it, to prove if I am or not right. So, he was electrocuted and then poisoned, right?" A nod. (How many times is he going to ask that?) "Well then, since none of you actually gave me a list of symptoms and only rambled on with useless things, I will need you to tell me just when did you realize that he was sick. Besides the vomiting, as apparently all of you throw up poison, pass out and wake up just fine." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, just a _hint_.

Slowly, the glove was peeled off piece by piece, and Cloud honestly tried to look away. It was disgustingly mesmerizing. "Ah, well... Right. After him being poisoned he didn't show much of symptoms until two days later when we all met up. He started murmuring things to himself, apparently directed at the demons in him." Cloud managed not to glare the scientist to death by keeping his eyes on what was being done to the arm. "He didn't look like he realized he was doing it and was severely confused when you asked about it. I think he might have started having a fever then, but I can't be sure because he doesn't take apparently random human contact well and I assumed that if anything was wrong he'd tell us." And he did tell them... somewhat.

Hojo nodded as he peeled off the last piece of the glove. As expected, the arm was in awful condition. He honestly didn't see why anyone would want to keep a limb like that. Professor Hojo stepped away for a minute and came back with two bottles, a roll of gauze, a single smelly towel and a dry, hard sponge. It could be used as a cheese grater as well, from the looks of it.

"So that's the first symptom I am assuming. When did you realize you're a failure in not only being a good SOLDIER but also as a friend?" Hojo asked as he walked around the table putting the restraining cuffs in place. Only out of worry of course. He didn't want Valentine hurting himself even more. That, and he would like to keep his face as it is for now."

Cloud was pretty sure that he was getting used to the random insults from Hojo, and he wasn't sure that was a good thing. Anyway, Hojo was asking for the next symptom.

"He started spacing out. It wasn't noticeable at first because he's mostly silent already, but I noticed that he wasn't focusing his eyes anywhere and only responded if you touched him. That's when we began getting worried and started trying to help him. Healing magic, over the counter drugs and all that. Nothing worked."

Hojo nodded as he put on two pairs of gloves that Cloud didn't know he had. "Is this when you decided to look in Nibelheim? And where were you for that matter?"

"We were close to Gongaga, and somewhat. Our next destination was already Nibelheim, but we sped up to when he started actually showing that he was hallucinating."

Professor Hojo smiled creepily as he wet the small sponge with what smelled like rubbing alcohol... He might not be one inclined towards medical stuff, but even Cloud knows that isn't the best solution. Especially on showing flesh. He watched as Hojo layered gauze over the towel and put it under Vincent's arm, and then started none too gently rubbing the arm from the top to the the fingers. Cloud was sure that he heard sizzling.

He shuddered as he cached the fingers twitch and something else rupturing and leaking another liquid with a nauseating scent. Thankfully, Hojo started asking questions again. Even if he still had that sadistic smirk plastered on his face.

"Good to know that you are all such great nurses, you managed to notice something hallucinating. So what do you mean he started showing that he was hallucinating?" Even if his voice sounded annoyed at his and his friend's supposed stupidity, the sadistic smirk only grew into a grin as he- _OH COME ON, THAT IS DISGUSTING! _

Cloud quickly raised a hand to cover his mouth and nose, it smelt completely nauseating and he wholeheartedly agreed with the voice in his head.

While it somewhat smelt like rotting blood and looked like congealed blood, whatever it was that Hojo managed to squeeze out couldn't be blood. Nuh uh.

_Answer the question, the question. _His mind practically begged him as a means of distraction.

Taking a deep breath through his mouth (augh, he could _taste _it), Cloud thought about it, completely ignoring the snark about being a nurse.

"Again, it was nothing at first. Yuffie and Red started noticing that he was mouthing to himself and looking around like he didn't know where he was, so we they just thought he was spacing out again. We then realized what was going on when he woke up one night and screamed, tried to rip his claw off and attacked Barret screaming 'What did you do to me?' and 'Shut up!' to his demons. After, ahem, neutralizing him, I noted that he was basically cooking himself from the inside out with a ridiculously high fever. We did what we could and he passed out, only to wake up fine the next morning with a slight headache. He didn't remember anything, or so he claimed." Hearing Vincent scream was one of the most terrifying things Cloud has ever heard, he had to admit. Not only did he think it was impossibly from the way the gunman talked normally, it reminded him of dark yet bright white labs, being lost, never ending mako green and immense pain, yet he didn't know why. It didn't help that at the mentions of the screaming Hojo _giggled_, and it wasn't his imagination making it up.

Averting his eyes from the disgusting display on the table, Cloud continued, as Hojo gave him no hint that he was going to ask another question.

"The hallucinating got more and more common until he was basically either asleep or hallucinating. I don't know how, but once he managed to tie me to a chair while I was asleep and came really close to... _demanding _information as to where he was." There are times he forgets that Vincent was a Turk, and that was a really nice way to remind him. Thankfully Tifa was a light sleeper and light on her feet.

"Oh, so you mean he was about to _torture _you? My, you sure know how where to get your friends, Strife. Maybe you shouldn't have been grave robbing in Shinra Manor after all."

Hojo's voice was annoyingly patronizing and mocking, and he was ignoring that he was the one that left hints to Vincent's existence himself.

Cloud winced slightly at the word torture but nodded nonetheless, even if Hojo wasn't looking at him. "Yes, but it did not go over the _about _line. He apologized and we left it at that." Cloud wondered if he should mention when he hallucinated of being in Professor Hojo's careful care. He decided that no, afraid it might actually please the man.

Hojo himself stared at the rests of the limb in his gloved hands, trying to find anything else to do to it besides smearing more alcohol and an antidote on it. After all, the limb would sort itself eventually. Hmm, perhaps a single shot of mako would help as well? After all, that was another way to cause more harm than good... _The other way around that is, heh heh. _

Hojo nodded to himself as he removed the dirty gauze from under the arm and threw them on the floor, trying to remember if there was a mako shot ready somewhere.

He cursed to himself silently when he remembered that he took them all when he moved back to Midgar after Z and C escaped. He would have to improvise, it seems.

Cloud glared at the scientist in front of him. The man was the reason Sephiroth existed. Why he went mad. He could kill him, without even leaking out a single drop of blood from the man's already busted nose, but no. He needed the man, no matter how disgusting it made him feel to admit that.

Crossing his arms and moving his gaze onto Vincent's face, he wondered if Vincent would hate him. He seemed to understand the situation, and only sounded like he wanted to know what the agreement was. But he still brought him to the man that turned him into what he was now. What if Hojo never shot Vincent, Cloud wondered. Would he be dead from a mission, or would he be still alive? Maybe he'd even have Tseng's job...

_Oh good, the failure is distracted_, Hojo noted as he gave Cloud a quick glance while filling the already used syringe with mako from the one of the not broken mako pods.

_It should be enough, and hopefully create an interesting reaction. But then, Valentine is passed out... Oh well. _

Without asking or even giving any sort of warning that he as going to do it, Professor Hojo injected the mako straight into the gunman's Brachial artery.

Cloud jumped back as Vincent's back arched and his legs and arms spasmed in their restraints, rudely taken out of his thoughts. He was about to ask what happened when he saw the syringe with the rests of the mako in Hojo's hand, he as about to leap across the table when Hojo turned his back on him with a hand extended to him telling him to wait.

"I did ask you about it." He lied. "But it was completely necessary, as since you didn't let me simply amputate it, I had to give his body something to help it filtering its own blood." And continued to lie. "He'll be fine, I assure you." _This _was true, and it seemed to reassure the blonde man and stop him from murdering him violently. Not that those words were reassuring much when they came from Hojo.

As Vincent stopped spasming, Professor Hojo grabbed his arm once again and grabbed the whole bottle of alcohol, to hopefully dry off whatever skin or flesh showing completely by showering it in the liquid. After said deed was done, he picked up the antidote and opened it, forcing some into Valentine's throat (who choked on most of it until Strife leaned his head forward) and spilled the rest on the arm. He didn't really care about the fact that an antidote alone could not be enough as that was their job to deal with.

The silence returned as he worked on the arm, and it stayed there until he finished wrapping the arm tightly in gauze.

"You'll need to find him a glove somewhere. If possible, have one personally made for him, as it needs to be a tight fit and it should stay on at all times. Until then and until the arm heals itself, you'll have change the gauze periodically and maybe even waste another antidote on it. Goodbye." Hojo declared as he pulled off his gloves and walked towards the door.

As the not so white gloves were thrown on the ground, Cloud blinked as the word goodbye hit him.

"_Wait!_ That's it?" He honestly didn't know what he expected to happen but this seemed too sudden. Cloud didn't want Vincent to continue suffering at the madman's hands, sure, but surely this just couldn't be it? It seemed too... easy, maybe?

"Unless you want me to call in and say I can't work because I was kidnapped, tell me what else do you want me to do with that walking corpse?"

Cloud stared uncertainly at the mad man, whose annoyance at him was yet again shifting towards amusement on how dense he was for a leader. "Fine, leave. We don't need you anymore, so _move."_

Hojo chuckled at that as he moved towards the double doors, a hand absently rubbing at the dried blood under his nose. "And what if you do need me?" Thankfully, he did not give Cloud time to answer, as he was already on his way to the stairs.

Cloud glared at where the man was he walked up to pick up the gun he dropped when entering the laboratory.

"Yeah well if we do need you..." Cloud grumbled, counting to ten in his head before walking over to Vincent and carefully picking up the taller man and not so carefully dropping the man over his shoulder before picking up the discarded claw. A scowl appeared on his face. _Didn't Hojo resign from Shinra? So how can he be call to work?_

Shaking his head, Cloud slowly made his way up the flimsy spiral stairs wondering why the small details stuck with him.

* * *

EDIT: I CAN'T DO IT, I CAN'T. I'M SORRY. Annnd this was supposed to end here, it was just a testing of my writing abilities. SO YEAH. I DID WARN YE IT WAS MEDIOCRE. man im hungry

OLD Note: Thank you for the suggestions. This is basically me trying to get back into writing, hah hah. I will try to break the sentences a bit more. I am actually an alien life force learning human patterns of speech and writing.

Current location: a mix between the Shinra Manor Underground lab from the original FF7 and FF7 CC. You'll note that supposedly they're the same, yet somehow in Crisis Core it seems more advanced, so I decided to leave the desk and bookcases there, while adding the metal table seen in CC and other such things.

Location in time is before the whole "Argh I, Cloud, gave Sephiroth the black materia! Better take out my frustrations in the love interest of my dead Best Friend and possibly my own!" thing. So Aeris is still there. And no Highwind, gotta remember that. _(Harder than I thought it would be.)_


End file.
